S & J Farm Supply is a local produce store on Church Avenue. The first edition was on the corner of 208 and Main Street, in an old steel building that served the farming community before Sheetz purchased the property. Selling fresh pumpkins every season, the second edition of Farm Supply was the corner store of Navarre’s Auto. Sharon and Jason Edwards opened their current Church Street location, the third edition of S & J Farm Supply three years ago. They have established a more personal touch with their customers and continued the pumpkin and mum sales there.
“We try to help every customer,” owner Jason Edwards said. “We load all the feed for the customers. You take the elderly people, they have to go into a box store, pick it up, put it in the cart, take it out to the car. If they can’t lift multiple pounds, we load it for them here, and we’ll break bags down if they need to.”
Along with selling locally, S & J gets all of its produce and goods from local farms. Edwards prides himself on locally sourced animal products. Customers go to S & J for animal feed, from rabbits to horses. The biggest seller is the brand, Tucker Milling, for its non-GMO, no-corn, no-soy feed.
“When I moved here, my goal was to open up and sell feed that nobody else sold,” Edwards said.
S & J hosts an animal swap in the parking lot twice a month. Instead of having to go out of town. People sell or exchange chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, and other healthy animals.
Other businesses turn to S & J to supply their produce, creating a network. Bethel Brews and Smokin’ Eddie’s both reserve their tomato purchases for S & J. When a truck or trailer needs to be serviced, Edwards turns to Navarre’s to take care of him. Edwards also works closely with Bo Bundrick to help students gain job experience.
“That’s how this part of town works,” Edwards said. “It seems like people try to support as much as possible.”
